Field of the Invention
This invention relates to substituted naphthalimides and derivatives thereof, such as the salts thereof with pharmacologically acceptable acids, N-oxides and quaternary ammonium salts, etc., which have great biological interest as anti-tumor agents.
These compounds have the general formula ##STR1## wherein X is alkyl, hydroxyl, alkoxy, halogen, amino, sulphonic acid, nitro, NHCOOC.sub.2 H.sub.5, acetylamino or acetoxy, and Y is a valence bond or alkylene having one to three carbons and bonded to a nitrogen-containing group, such as dimethylamino, diethylamino, pyrrolidino, piperidino, N-methylpiperazino, morpholino or ureyl, with the proviso that when X is nitro, Y is not 2-dimethylaminoethyl, 2-diethylaminoethyl, 2-(N-pyrrolidino)ethyl or 2-(N-piperidino)ethyl.
The general methods of synthesis of these compounds is based on the reaction of an active derivative of the "X" substituted naphthalic acid with the corresponding primary amine, in a suitable solvent, at temperatures in the range of from the freezing point to the boiling point of the solvent, wherein ambient temperature is effective in the majority of cases. Once the reaction is completed, the resulting product is filtered and crystallized in an appropriate solvent.
The naphthalimides of the type shown in the formula above act as ADN and ARN-inhibiting agents and are useful as cytostatic agents.